Exploring Medical Students' Perceptions of Empathy Training in The Indian Attitude, Ethics, and Communication Curriculum: An Exploratory Qualitative Descriptive Survey.
Background: Empathy is widely recognized as a core component of patient-centered care and an important professional competency for medical graduates. In India, the attitude, ethics, and communication (AETCOM) module was introduced within the competency-based MBBS curriculum to foster empathy, commun...
| Publicado en: | Indian Journal of Community Medicine Vol. 51; no. 4; pp. 740 - 745 |
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| Autores principales: | , , , , , , |
| Formato: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
Wolters Kluwer India Pvt Ltd
Jul/Aug2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=196120520&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 196120520 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 09700218 1CQJ jtl: Indian Journal of Community Medicine issn: 09700218 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jul/Aug2026 vid: 51 iid: 4 pid: 16919 pub: Wolters Kluwer India Pvt Ltd artinfo: ui: 196120520 196120520 196120520 10.4103/ijcm.ijcm_674_25 196120520 ppf: 740 ppct: 5 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Exploring Medical Students' Perceptions of Empathy Training in The Indian Attitude, Ethics, and Communication Curriculum: An Exploratory Qualitative Descriptive Survey. aug: au: Singh, Shruti Kirubakaran, S Singh, Prashant Kumar Vaidyar, Riya Ranjith Swe, Kye Mon Min Patel, Punit Mishra, Dheerendra Kumar affil: Department of Pharmacology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Patna, Bihar, India sug: subj: Students, Medical Psychosocial Factors Student Attitudes Evaluation Student Experiences Evaluation Empathy Education Education, Medical Ethics, Medical Communication Skills Curriculum Teaching India Human Funding Source Female Male Exploratory Research Qualitative Studies Descriptive Research Descriptive Statistics Students, Undergraduate Tertiary Health Care Open-Ended Questionnaires Education, Baccalaureate Role Playing Simulations Narratives Faculty Attitudes Learning Methods Listening Patient Centered Care Communication Emotions Teaching Methods Hardiness Self Care Education Female Male ab: Background: Empathy is widely recognized as a core component of patient-centered care and an important professional competency for medical graduates. In India, the attitude, ethics, and communication (AETCOM) module was introduced within the competency-based MBBS curriculum to foster empathy, communication skills, and professionalism. However, limited qualitative evidence exists regarding students' experiences of empathy-focused teaching within this curriculum. This study explored medical students' perceptions and experiences of empathy-focused AETCOM sessions and their views regarding the teachability of empathy. Methods: An exploratory qualitative descriptive survey was conducted among second-year MBBS students at a tertiary-care medical institute in June 2025. An anonymous online survey containing a single open-ended question—"What are your perceptions and experiences regarding the AETCOM classes focused on empathy?"—was administered following informed consent. Seventy-five students submitted written responses. Responses were reviewed independently by two researchers and organized into descriptive categories representing common patterns in participants' experiences and perceptions. Results: Four broad categories were identified. Students generally perceived role-plays, simulations, patient narratives, and faculty experiences as valuable learning approaches. Participants described increased awareness of active listening, patient-centered communication, and patients' emotional concerns. Suggested improvements included greater use of interactive and practice-oriented teaching methods, shorter sessions, and incorporation of emotional resilience and self-care training. A small minority of students expressed reservations regarding the impact of empathy teaching and viewed empathy primarily as an innate personal attribute. Conclusion: Students generally viewed empathy-focused AETCOM sessions positively, particularly when delivered through interactive and experiential approaches. The findings suggest that learner feedback may help inform the ongoing refinement of empathy-focused teaching within undergraduate medical education. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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